New York Mets' Pete Alonso Will Only Participate in Home Run Derby on Special Condition
New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso will only defend his Home Run Derby title at Dodger Stadium later this month on one special condition.
The 27-year-old will participate in the Derby for the third time in his young career if the fans vote him in as the National League's starting first baseman in the All-Star Game.
“Well, this is it: If you guys go out and vote and get me as a starter, I will do the Derby,” Alonso told WFAN’s Carton & Roberts show. “If you guys could go to MLB.com and vote The Polar Bear, I’d represent the best city in the world out in L.A. … New York is such a great city and I just want to be the best representation out there.”
Alonso and St. Louis Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt recently advanced to the second and final stage of voting, in which fans elect a starter for each position on the National League and American League rosters.
Alonso has won back-to-back Home Run Derby titles, first in 2019 at Progressive Field in Cleveland and then last year at Coors Field in Denver, Colorado (2020 derby was cancelled due to pandemic-shortened season).
The Mets' first baseman has slugged 22 home runs (tied for fourth in MLB), driven in 69 RBI (league-leading) in 80 games this season. As for Goldschmidt, the Cardinals' first baseman has 19 homers, 65 RBI (tied for second in MLB) and is slashing .340/.422/.620 with a 1.042 OPS. He leads the NL in batting average and hits (101) as well.
As good as Alonso has been, Goldschmidt has somehow been even better. So unless the fans step up for Alonso by voting him in as the starting first baseman for the NL, he might not defend his title this year on July 18 in L.A.
Read More:
- Mets DFA Struggling Reliever to Clear Room for Max Scherzer
- Mets Rehab Assignment Updates: Jacob deGrom, Travis Jankowski
- Mets' Jacob deGrom Dominates in First Rehab Start
Follow Pat Ragazzo on Twitter (@ragazzoreport), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.
